Direction

RESPONSIBILITIES

In the business of film production, the designation of
"director" is a somewhat enigmatic title. Comparatively
speaking, most of the other principal creative personnel involved in
filmmaking hold titles that give a fairly clear indication of their
professional responsibilities. Generally, one individual is responsible
for overseeing the labor that is relevant to a single facet of production,
whether it be cinematography, writing, editing, music, sound, production
design, or costumes. With the notable exception of the producer, however,
the range of the director's tasks is quite broad, and involves
coordinating innumerable creative activities throughout the course of
developing, shooting, completing, and marketing a film.

It shall be assumed here that the director is the individual who actively
oversees the realization of a film from shooting script to finished
product, harmoniously coordinating the creative activities of the key
personnel involved in the production processes. He or she will liaise with
each of these artists, deliberate over various expressive and/or technical
options to be implemented, and arrive at a decision that is commensurate
with the requirements of the developing work. Correspondingly, the
director will also be answerable to the executive body that finances
and/or distributes the work and therefore must ensure that production runs
smoothly and within an allotted budget. The director's job, then,
is twofold: to maintain a consistency of style and quality throughout
production and ensure that the production itself proceeds efficiently and
economically.

In other words, before one considers the director's position in
evaluative terms (as a potential author), one must come to a more
objective understanding of the director's position in descriptive
terms (as an effective delegate). Serving as the funnel through which all
of the decisions affecting a film's form and style are exercised, a
director's primary task is to cultivate and coordinate the creative
contributions of a production company's principal artists. In the
interests of specificity and demystification, it is worth enumerating the
various duties assigned to the director during all three stages of
filmmaking: preproduction, production, and postproduction.

During the preproduction stage, the director's responsibilities can
be divided into four principle tasks: (1) collaborating with the writer(s)
on the development of the script; (2) assisting the casting director in
hiring appropriate actors, and conducting rehearsals; (3) cooperating with
the producer(s) in developing a practical shooting schedule; and (4)
planning the overall visual "look" of the film with the
production designers and the director of photography (DOP). The extent of
a director's involvement in each of these phases varies according
to production context and the director's personal working habits. A
director may insist on meticulously preplanning a film before beginning to
shoot, which is the method preferred by Satyajit Ray (1921–1992),
or, the director may treat the film organically, allowing it to develop
spontaneously during the process of shooting. Wong Kar-wai (b. 1958), for
example, frequently devises and shoots several different versions of a
loosely scripted scenario before settling on one that will become the
"official" film.

Throughout the actual shooting of the work, the director must multitask
efficiently, ensuring that all tasks are executed effectively, solving any
unforeseen complications that may arise during production. First, the
director and the DOP will supervise the electricians and grips in the
lighting of a set—ensuring the correct placement of lights,
cutters, and nets. Second, all camerawork—including framing and
composition, lens selection, and tracking shots—must be reviewed
and potentially rehearsed with the DOP, camera operator, and focus puller.
Third, he or she will consult the head carpenter, set dresser, and
assistant director (AD) to ensure that there are no logistical problems
with the staging of a scene. The director and the AD must also properly
block and coach any extras appearing in the scene. Fourth, the director
confers with the sound crew regarding the proper placement of microphones
and any additional sound equipment. Finally, the director will provide the
actors with instructions and suggestions, guiding them through the playing
of a scene based on decisions agreed upon during rehearsals. Practical
directions will be given to ensure that the actors stay in frame and
compensate for any camera movement, but less concretely, the director will
also coach actors through improvisations, modulating the
"tone" of their performances.

It is at the completion of a take that the director's most crucial
decision emerges: whether or not the photographed action will be printed.
If all of the above elements have been fulfilled to his or her
satisfaction, the director will order the shot to be taken to the lab for
processing. The processed shot will most likely appear in the final cut of
the film after being carefully scrutinized at the daily rushes by the
principal crewmembers. Given the enormous amount of work required during
the production stages, the average amount of time needed to shoot a
modestly budgeted, 120-minute film is about forty days. Independent
directors working with a small crew on a shoestring budget will usually
take considerably less time. For example, while working for AIP
Productions, Roger Corman (b. 1926) was able to shoot eighty-minute
exploitation films, such as
Little Shop of Horrors
(1960), in three days. By contrast, Frances Ford Coppola (b. 1939)
required over sixteen months to shoot the problem-laden art-house
blockbuster,
Apocalypse Now
(1979).

Once actual filming has finished, the director must preside over the
completion of the work during postproduction. Again, the degree of a
director's involvement in these stages varies according to
historically determined production contexts and individual practice.
Before 1940, for example, a Hollywood director often had literally no
input in the cutting of a film; the footage was sent directly to the
editing department, and the director might not even see it again until a
rough cut was completed for previewing. By contrast, the contemporary
digital manipulation of images has increased to such a degree that the
director's close involvement in postproduction stages is often a
necessity. Indeed, digital filmmaking has significantly blurred the
distinction between filmic creation and modification, and has therefore
expanded the director's postproduction role dramatically.

As in preproduction, there are four principal post-production areas in
which a director's input is necessary: (1) editing, (2) visual
effects, (3) music, and (4) sound. In most cases, an editor and director
will develop the film's pace and rhythm, reinforce continuity
between shots, trim moments of unwanted excess, and ensure that the
montage generally serves to reinforce the work's intent. The visual
effects category encompasses the manipulation of the raw footage by color
timers, processing technicians, special effects designers, and an array of
digital artists, compositors, and animators. Broadly speaking, a director
will convey instructions to supervisors in each of these groups,
indicating the specific "look" the director wishes to
convey. Such post-filmic "treatment" affecting the overall
appearance of a work can range from Robert Altman's (b. 1925)
decision to "preflash" the negative of
The Long Goodbye
(1973) in order to amplify the washed-out pastels of its hazy Los Angeles
milieu, to Robert Rodriguez's (b. 1968) development of the entirely
digital, black-and-white cityscape of
Sin City
(2005). The director will oversee a film's aural elements as well.
In working with the composer, he might intimate how the score reinforces
the affective intent of key sequences, accentuates notable action, or even
organizes the structure of the montage. The director may also specify to
the sound designer how various audio cues will function, indicate the
expressive intent of ambient noise, and/or explain the interplay between
aural effects and edits. A favorite composer might be relied
upon—as in Danny Elfman's recurring scores for Tim Burton
(b. 1958)—or in some rare cases, a director might personally
compose the film's music (as Charlie Chaplin [1889–1977] did
for his features), or co-design the sound (as David Lynch [b. 1946] often
does).